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The end of the Discworld is near, as the geriatric Silver Horde, lead by Cohen the Barbarian, are on their way to Dunmanifestin with the firm intention of blowing up the Gods. They've even kidnapped a minstrel to write the story of their heroic lives. Someone has to stop them, and quickly!So to save the world from total destruction, the Wizards of Unseen University and the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork, Lord Vetinari, have no choice but to call Leonard da Quirm to the rescue. Soon the inventor, along with the very literal Captain Carrot of the City Watch and Rincewind the chicken-hearted WiZZard, embark on a perilous journey aboard the Kite, a bird-shaped flying device powered by Swamp Dragons. According to his calculations, if the Kite goes over the rim at great speed, it'll come back around and rocket right towards the hub, where lies Dunmanifestin, just in time to stop Cohen and his gang.Even though The Last Hero might seems a little bit short, comparatively, of course it has the genuine, punful, Pratchett style that we've all come to love so much. The good side of it is that it's read in no time, eh! And Paul Kidby's lavish illustrations are just astounding. Would do a wonderful gift idea, wouldn't it?

I loved this book! I would not advise it for someone who is not yet aquainted with the Discworld, but it is otherwise marvelous. The tale was short but made up for it with page after page of spectacular illustrations by Paul Kidby.The Last Hero brings together Carrot and Rincewind who, to my knowledge, have never before shared an adventure, along with gods, wizards, priests and of course heros. Altogether, throughly spiffy

Cohen the Barbarian (lately Genghiz Cohen, Emperor of Agatea) and his Silver Horde (they used to be a Golden Horde, but that was before what hair they have left went grey) have set out on one last grand and pointless adventure; Cohen plans to swarm the mountain of the gods and "the last thief will return what the first thief stole".For those who wonder just what that means, the first thief is currently chained to a mountainside with an eagle tearing at his liver, and Cohen has a large barrel of Agatean Fire Clay[1]...And, if he succeeds, it's the End Of The World.And so the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork turns to the wizards of Unseen University and to Leonard of Quirm[2] to figure out how to stop Cohen.As usual, Leonard has An Idea.And so Leonard, Captain Carrot of the Watch and Rincewind, the reluctant wizard[3] set out in the Discworld's first spacecraft to orbit the Disc and get there in time to stop Cohen and company.Unlike the usual Discworld adventure, this is a large-format book with illustrations by Paul Kidby[5], and the illustrations (while not essential to the story) are hilarious and complement Pratchett's inspired satirical insanity brilliantly.[7]As usual, though, one can count on Pratchett to hold up a twisted mirror to our own world and to make a few Telling Points here and there.And -- mirabile dictu! -- Archchancellor Ridcully seems to be beginning to understand some of the implications of quantum theory as it applies to magic and the (more or less) Real World.[8]

[1]Not to mention a kidnapped minstrel to write the saga after it's all over. It is required by The Rules that Heroic Deeds be recounted in sagas.Read more ›

This book is absolutely fabulous; it's 20 dollars well-spent!Unlike some other books like this that I've bought (The Dragon Chronicles comes to mind), this one relies as much on its great text as it does on the gorgeous paintings.The story here fits into the book quite nicely, although it gets off to a bit of a jerky start (at first it seems like there's a new story on every page) and at the end not ALL the loose ends are tied up (whatever happened to the priests in the Temple of Small Gods?). On the whole, though, there's much to enjoy here. This has got to be the most condensed Discworld story ever written yet, since it tries to cram almost every single major character in the series into one book. Nevertheless, once the story gets flowing it all reads like one of the better Discworld novels.The paintings are gorgeous and plentiful (there's one on almost every page!) and add a whole new dimension to the story. All of the characters and landscapes were painted just like I THOUGHT they should look (I've read several Discworld novels already). Carrot in particular is a hard character to draw, but a good effort was made regardless.This is a perfect book for newcomers to the series who want to see the best that it has to offer before deciding whether to read the other books, but also for seasoned Discworld readers who will love the illustrations and the new characters that this story brings into play.Plus, Christmas is coming. This is the PERFECT gift book for anybody who has a sense of humour.

...Pratchett books are too short. This (sigh!) is theshortest of the lot. Other than that, of course, it'smarvelous. We last met Cohen the Barbarian and his antiquesuperheroes when they conquered the Counterweight Continentin _Interesting Times_. With nothing left to conquer, theygive up the easy life that has already taken one of theirnumber. They are going to climb Cori Celesti, the impossiblyhigh central spire of Discworld, and return fire to the gods- in the form of a barrel of gunpowder. The resultingexplosion in Dunmanifestin, the godly city, will destabilizethe entire world. To stop them, Unseen University is launching anexperimental ship, powered by belching mini-dragons, off theedge of the Disc. Designed by Leonard of Quirm, its orbitalpath should land it on the mountain in time to stop theattack. Once again, Pratchett takes the ridiculous and raises itto the sublime. Truckle the Uncivil, Boy Willie, and MadHamish (in his wheelchair) can't take on the gods! But whenthey do, we'll learn something about how to remember realheroism. The terrified minstrel dragged along behind Calebthe Ripper and grandmotherly war-maiden Vena the Raven-hairedlearns how to write a song remembered forever. Leonard ofQuirm, the innocent super-genius, can design an possibleflying machine in his head, but stands in awe, painting thegrandeur he views from space. There is clearly some Pratchett soul in Leonard, andRincewind the Wizzard, and even in Evil Harry Dread (the lastDark Lord).Read more ›